Motorama Car Show a boon for North Adams

NORTH ADAMS -- Acres and acres of Corvettes, Mustangs, Ramblers, Corvairs and other muscle cars covered the downtown area on Sunday, for the fourth annual Motorama Car Show.

In addition to an army of muscle cars, the showcase also featured trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, vintage snowmobiles and antique cars.

There were a total of 375 vehicles on Main, Holden and Eagle streets yesterday.

"It gets bigger every year," said Mayor Richard Alcombright, who was at the event as a spectator. "Last year, there were about 250 cars here."

Richard Sweener is a sales associate for racingjunk.com, a website that sells engines, engine parts and a variety of vehicular accessories. Racingjunk.com has been a sponsor for three of the four years the event has been in North Adams.

Sweener believes that the demise of the very popular Hillcrest Car Show in Pittsfield two years ago has helped boost attendance here. In addition, he said, sponsors like racingjunk.com have been aggressively marketing the show for the past two years.

"The idea is to get people to the downtown area," he said. "Chances are, if you own or are a fan of cars, you probably have some extra scratch.

"If people come here, they will spend money in restaurants, stores, hotels, whatever. It's a nice boost for the community."

"We love it," said Carl Bates a former Berkshire resident who now lives in Vermont with his wife and two daughters. The family makes the pilgrimage to North Adams for the show every year. "It's a reminder of a lost era. I'm 55, and I remember those days very well. It was about cars and girls."

"It's the nostalgia of an older era," said Brian Gibson of Charlemont. Gibson has a 1968 Chevelle. "It's something to remind people of the old days."

"It's a hobby for a lot of us," said Joel Gibson, of Granby, who was busy polishing a 1967 Ford Mustang. "Some things you just do for fun.

"Plus," he said smiling, "you get a lot of compliments."

Most of the vendors drive their cars to shows around New England. Douglas Ball of Bennington, Vt., owner of a 1970 red Corvette, said he drives to shows regularly.

Interestingly, said Ball, when he inquired about classic car insurance, he was surprised to find out that it's only $200 annually.

"I said, ‘Wait a minute. You mean $200 a month?' " he said. "And they said, no, $200 a year. And that's because people take such good care of these cars that there are almost no claims."

But, according to Gibson, while it's fun to take his car for a spin, it's also nerve-wracking.

"Oh yeah," he said with a laugh. " You always keep one eye out for another guy getting too close. You don't want to get a scratch on this."

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